Worrals in the Wastelands/plot
Chapter 1: Appointment at Scotland Yard The war is just over, and Air Commodore Raymond, now back at Scotland Yard, summons Worrals and Frecks. He has a job for them: go to the frozen wastelands of northern Canada and capture Anna Shultz, a war criminal who once headed the notorious Stenberg Internment Camp. Worrals, who knows of Anna's reputation, is instantly interested. Raymond tells them why Anna might be in Canada. In 1939, before the war, two Germans, Otto Rumey and Fritz Hanstadt had appeared at Fort MacWilliam in the far north of Canada, claiming to be political refugees. They had traveled north but later encountered two trappers, Erik Hedin and Angus Fraser. When the Germans got news from the trappers that war had broken out, they hurriedly departed. In order to get money, Rumey and Handstadt went to Fort MacWilliam and traded in a quantity of gold of a unique pale yellow colour. After the war, an ex-R.A.F. officer, John Larwood, appeared at Fort MacWilliam, wanting to finance a prospecting expedition to the far north. He teamed up with Erik Hedin and they chartered a flying boat flown by Eddie Clarke to take them to Lake Desolation where they hoped to start prospecting. A few months later, Clarke returned as arranged to pick Larwood and Hedin up but found no sign of them. In searching their campsite, he did find something unusual: a lipstick case. Chapter 2: Worrals Accepts a Commission It was no ordinary lipstick case. It was made of the same pale yellow gold Rumey had traded in, and bore an inscription: "To A.S. from O.R. 1943." It was too much of a coincidence. O.R. must stand for Rumey. British Intelligence questioned Schaffer, Rumey's adjutant and found out that Rumey was engaged to Anna Shultz! Rumey was charmed by her and probably did not know of her atrocities. Schaffer doubted that Anna had any real affection for Rumey. She had been known to be involved with one Dr Wolfe, the doctor at Stenberg Camp and was also a wanted war criminal. As the war ended, Schaffer had helped Rumey prepare a Focke-Wulf Kondor, heavily loaded with fuel and stores for a long journey. So the evidence pointed to Rumey and Anna having flown out of Germany and ending up in northern Canada. Chapter 3: A Shot in the Gloaming Worrals and Frecks accept the mission and arrive in Canada. They get advice from Eddie Clark and then fly towards Lake Desolation, They glide into the lake silently and moor in a creek on the western end of the lake and set up camp at the western end. From Clark, they had learnt that Hedin and Larwood's camp was in the middle of the crescent shaped lake and Shultz's lipstick had been discovered to the east. In the night, they hear a shot in the distance. Chapter 4: Strange Developments Worrals and Frecks began exploring to the east. They come across a cairn of rocks. Probably a burial, but whose? Then there is the obligatory wild animal encounter: they meet a wounded bear in the bushes. It was probably injured by the shot they heard last night. They slowly back away and head back to camp after a tiring day. Chapter 5: A Curious Visitation Approaching their camp, Worrals spots a movement. There's a face watching them. They point their weapons and demand the person to step out. An emaciated and injured man emerges. He is Max Lowenhardt, Otto Rumey's wireless operator. Chapter 6: Lowenhardt Tells His Story Worrals and Frecks tend Lowenhardt's wounds and revive him with food. He tells them he had escaped with Rumey to Canada in the Kondor when the war ended. Anna Shultz had come along. Shult had wanted to bring Dr Wolfe with her. Rumey had flatly refused but Wolfe stowed away and came along anyway. Once at Lake Desolation, Rumey had dismantled the aircraft but saved the fuselage. It became their living quarters and was called "the box". The party panned for the gold. When Hedin and Larwood arrived, Anna even suggested that they team up. The two had agreed, not knowning Anna's background. Lowenhardt suspected Anna was just using them and would eventually kill them. When the day arrived for Eddie Clark to collect the two, Wolfe drugged them. They were unconscious for three days and suspected nothing. They simply assumed Clark had somehow or other been unable to come. Rumey was increasingly suspicious of Wolfe who was spending a lot of time with Anna. One day, he caught Wolfe with his arms around Anna and angrily demanded what was happening. Anna laughed and told him she and the doctor were married! In his anger, Rumey blurted out that in that case he would tell Hanstadt not to take her away. This was a bad mistake. Rumey had held many secrets of the plan and this had kept him alive. He had, earlier, already allowed Anna to charm out of him the secret location of the gold. Now he had revealed his escape plan. Anna no longer had any need for him so she shot him and also Lowenhardt who was nearby. They pretend to be dead. After Anna and wolfe go off, Lowenhardt tried to drag Rumey into hiding and look after him but he had been shot in the stomach and died soon after. Lowenhardt built a cairn over his body and for the next six weeks had survived on carrion and whatever food left behind by foxes and bears, until he saw Worrals and Frecks arrive. Chapter 7: Awkward Situations The next day, the girls leave Lowenhardt to rest in their aircraft and set out towards "The Box". They had decided they must continue with the mission: they cannot fly off to call for reinforcements. They would be heard taking off. Besides, Hanstadt might arrive any moment, and Larwood and Hedin are in imminent danger. Nearing "The Box", they spot some men heading into a gorge in a mountain face. Anna walking in the open with a shotgun hunting for the pot. Now's a chance to grab her but then Wolfe shows up calling for her. Chapter 8: Worse and Worse Anna is now out of sight and Wolfe has gone to "The Box". Worrals and Frecks decide to head into the gorge to look for Hedin and Larwood. They might be able to put them wise about Anna and Wolfe. But partway into the gorge they are forced to hide when they hear Anna and then Wolfe approaching. They overhear a brief discussion about the need to kill Hedin and Larwood soon. The two Germans then go further into the gorge. There are two gunshots in quick succession and Anna and Wolfe come hurrying back out of the gorge. Worrals goes into the gorge to see what has happened. She reaches the end and finds the "diggings". There's signs of prospecting but where are Hedin and Larwood? Puzsled, she heads back but now Frecks has disappeared also! Chapter 9: Close Quarters Waiting for Worrals, Frecks had run into Anna Shultz. But Shultz appears friendly and invites her into "The Box" for tea. Frecks tells a story of her and Worrals flying to see a friend in the area. In reply, Anna and Wolfe tell her they are refugees from Germany but their plane crashed and marooned them here. Frecks has a brainwave. She says she has to fly off soon but she could give them a lift to civilisation if they wished. She leaves them to think about the offer and makes her way back to camp. Chapter 10: Worries for Worrals Worrals, searching for Frecks, appraches "The Box" and overhears Anna and Wolfe discussing Frecks' offer of a ride. She sees Frecks going off and catches up with her and they head back for a much needed rest in camp. Chapter 11: A Thief in the Night Worrals approves of Frecks' idea as once Wolfe and Anna are on board their aircraft, it would be simple enough to arrest them. The next morning they fly to "The Box" but Anna and Wolfe are in no mood to leave! Someone has stolen their gold! They don't mention Larwood and Hedin but say it could be two prospectors they had seen working in the area. Worrals offers to fly around the vicinity to look for them. Chapter 12: More Revelations Worrals really does an air search for Larwood and Hedin as she wants to know what happened to them. They find nothing and return to their camp where they are surprised to find Lowenhardt, Larwood, Hedin and now Angus Fraser all waiting. Angus explains that he had come up the river to look for his old friend and had fired the two shots--their recognition signal. Larwood and Hedin had headed out of the gorge to meet him and missed seeing Worrals because it was raining heavily. Angus had picked them up in his canoe and,spotting, Worrals' camp, had brought them over. They had hidden the gold and everyone has now been put wise about who Anna and Wolfe really are. They agree to help Worrals and Frecks arrest the Germans. Worrals heads back to "The Box" to tell Shultz she had "found" the prospectors. Meanwhile Larwood and the others would set up an ambush position to grab her and Wolfe when they come hurrying to retrieve their gold. Chapter 13: Fresh Plans Shultz and Wolfe depart to collect the gold but turn back when they see a party of men approaching. It's Fritz Hanstadt and a group of German sailors! They had come from their secret U-boat base on Hudson Bay which he and Rumey had established before the war. Shultz greets them warmly and tell her version of the story. Hanstadt is sorry to hear of Rumey's death in an "accident" but agrees to help retrieve the gold. But the U-boat captain also has a surprise for Shultz--he and Rumey had all along planned to deliver the gold to surviving Nazi party members hiding in South America. They would use the money to fund the party's revival. Neither Shultz nor Wolfe are keen to learn this but they play along. Shultz leaves with Handstadt and four sailors to confront the gold theives, but Shultz tells Worrals to wait--she might still want her offer of a ride out. Chapter 14: A Matter of Wits Left with Wolfe and guarded by six sailors at "The Box", Worrals hastily thinks of a new plan--a temporary alliance with the doctor. She suggests to the doctor that things are not going his way: if Hanstadt got the gold, he would not see it nor Anna again. He agrees and accepts Worrals' suggestion to invite the sailor into "The Box" for refreshments and lock them up, only he does one better and drugs them into unconsciousness. Turning to store his medicines, Worrals takes the opportunity to handcuff him to a fuselage longeron. Chapter 15: Worrals Shows Her Hand Worrals and Frecks take off and fly a roudabout route to avoid being heard by Hanstadt and Shultz. They glide in to their camp and brief Lowenhardt about what has happened and leave him with a rifle to guard their base. They then move towards the ambush position and meet up with Larwood and the others. The force approaching them is larger than expected but their position is ideal--a saucer-shaped depression with rocks on all sides and Worrals says she still has cards up her sleeve. As Shultz and Hanstadt approach, Worrals plants herself on a boulder by a campfire in the middle of the depression. Shultz is shocked to see her but Worrals now announces that she is here to arrest her, "Mrs Wolfe" for the murder of Otto Rumey. As expected, this is enough to stun Hanstadt into inaction. Shultz tries to counter that it is all lies but now Lowenhardt turns up to with a rifle to join in the accusation--he had followed Worrals and Frecks and wants to settle a personal score. Shultz tries to draw her pistol but Lowenhardt fires first and sends her tumbling. She recovers and runs off. Chapter 16: Strange Justice Worrals and Frecks run after Shultz. She proves a good runner and might have got away when she reached the cover of some birch trees, but suddenly there is a shot and a scream. Worrals and Frecks see Shultz backing out, confronted by an angry wounded bear--probably the one she had shot a few days earlier. Shultz stumbles on a rock and the bear throws itself on her. Worrals and Frecks run up and kill the bear but Shultz has already been badly mauled. Chapter 17: The End of the Trail Worrals flies Shultz and Lowenhardt to Fort MacWilliam for medical help. Shultz dies two days later. Worrals and Frecks return to Lake Desolation. Hanstadt had promised not take Wolfe away. Going to "The Box", they find that he had kept his word: Wolfe is still there but Handstadt had shot him and had then left with his men. The R.C.A.F. bomb Hanstadt's secret base and sink his submarine, but he and his men were never seen again. Larwood and Hedin are awarded a fair share of the gold they had found, which Hedin shared with his friend Fraser. The three later form a syndicate to work the gold at Lake Desolation but Worrals and Frecks decline their invitation to join in. Category:Plot summaries